H.R. 2528 — what changed
STEM Opportunities Act of 2019
From Reported in House to Engrossed in House. 2 sections amended between Reported in House and Engrossed in House.
Sec. 7 Cultural and institutional barriers to expanding the academic and Federal STEM workforce
Best practices at institutions of higher education and Federal laboratories—
Development of guidance— Not later than 12 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director, in consultation with the interagency working group on inclusion in STEM, shall develop written guidance for institutions of higher education and Federal laboratories on the best practices for—
conducting periodic climate surveys of STEM departments and divisions, with a particular focus on identifying any cultural or institutional barriers to the recruitment, retention, or advancement of women, racial and ethnic minorities, and other groups historically underrepresented in STEM studies and careers; and
providing educational opportunities, including workshops as described in subsection (b), for STEM faculty, research personnel, and administrators to learn about current research on implicit bias in recruitment, evaluation, and promotion of undergraduate and graduate students and research personnel.
Existing guidance— In developing the guidance under paragraph (1), the Director shall utilize guidance already developed by Federal science agencies.
Dissemination of guidance— Federal science agencies shall broadly disseminate the guidance developed under paragraph (1) to institutions of higher education that receive Federal research funding and Federal laboratories.
Establishment of policies— Consistent with the guidance developed under paragraph (1)—
the Director of the National Science Foundation shall develop a policy that—
applies to, at a minimum, doctoral degree granting institutions that receive Federal research funding; and
requires each such institution, not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, to report to the Director of the National Science Foundation on activities and policies developed and implemented based on the guidance developed under paragraph (1); and
each Federal science agency with a Federal laboratory shall maintain or develop and implement practices and policies for the purposes described in paragraph (1) for such laboratory.
Workshops To address cultural barriers to expanding the academic and Federal STEM workforce—
In general— Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director, in consultation with the interagency working group on inclusion in STEM, shall recommend a uniform policy for Federal science agencies to carry out a program of workshops that educate STEM department chairs at institutions of higher education, senior managers at Federal laboratories, and other federally funded researchers about methods that minimize the effects of implicit bias in the career advancement, including hiring, tenure, promotion, and selection for any honor based in part on the recipient’s research record, of academic and Federal STEM researchers.
Interagency coordination— The Director shall, to the extent practicable, ensure that workshops supported under this subsection are coordinated across Federal science agencies and jointly supported as appropriate.
Minimizing costs— To the extent practicable, workshops shall be held in conjunction with national or regional STEM disciplinary meetings to minimize costs associated with participant travel.
Priority fields for academic participants— In considering the participation of STEM department chairs and other academic researchers, the Director shall prioritize workshops for the broad fields of STEM in which the national rate of representation of women among tenured or tenure-track faculty or nonfaculty researchers at doctorate-granting institutions of higher education is less than 25 percent, according to the most recent data available from the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics.
Organizations eligible to carry out workshops— A Federal science agency may carry out the program of workshops under this subsection by making grants to organizations made eligible by the Federal science agency and any of the following organizations:
Nonprofit scientific and professional societies and organizations that represent one or more STEM disciplines.
Nonprofit organizations that have the primary mission of advancing the participation of women, minorities, or other groups historically underrepresented in STEM.
Characteristics of workshops— The workshops shall have the following characteristics:
Invitees to workshops shall include at least—
the chairs of departments in the relevant STEM discipline or disciplines from doctoral degree granting institutions that receive Federal research funding; and
in the case of Federal laboratories, individuals with personnel management responsibilities comparable to those of an institution of higher education department chair.
Activities at the workshops shall include research presentations and interactive discussions or other activities that increase the awareness of the existence of implicit bias in recruitment, hiring, tenure review, promotion, and other forms of formal recognition of individual achievement for faculty and other federally funded STEM researchers and shall provide strategies to overcome such bias.
Research presentations and other workshop programs, as appropriate, shall include a discussion of the unique challenges faced by different underrepresented groups, including minority women, minority men, persons from rural and underserved areas, persons with disabilities, gender and sexual minority individuals, and first generation graduates in research.
Workshop programs shall include information on best practices for mentoring undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral women, minorities, and other students from groups historically underrepresented in STEM.
Data on workshops— Any proposal for funding by an organization seeking to carry out a workshop under this subsection shall include a description of how such organization will—
collect data on the rates of attendance by invitees in workshops, including information on the home institution and department of attendees, and the rank of faculty attendees;
conduct attitudinal surveys on workshop attendees before and after the workshops; and
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collect follow-up data on any relevant institutional policy or practice changes reported by attendees not later than one 1 year after attendance in such a workshop.
Report to NSF— Organizations receiving funding to carry out workshops under this subsection shall report the data required in paragraph (7) to the Director of the National Science Foundation in such form as required by such Director.
Report to Congress— Not later than 4 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the National Science Foundation shall submit a report to Congress that includes—
a summary and analysis of the types and frequency of activities and policies developed and carried out under subsection (a) based on the reports submitted under paragraph (4) of such subsection; and
a description and evaluation of the status and effectiveness of the program of workshops required under subsection (b), including a summary of any data reported under paragraph (8) of such subsection.
Authorization of appropriations— There are authorized to be appropriated to the Director of the National Science Foundation $1,000,000 in each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024 to carry out this section.
Sec. 9 Research and related activities to expand STEM opportunities
National Science Foundation support for increasing diversity among stem faculty at institutions of higher education— Section 305 of the American Innovation and Competitiveness Act (42 U.S.C. 1862s–5) is amended—
by redesignating subsections (e) and (f) as subsections (g) and (h), respectively; and
by inserting after subsection (d) the following:
“(e) Support for increasing diversity among STEM faculty at institutions of higher education
“(1) In general—The Director of the Foundation shall award grants to institutions of higher education (or consortia thereof) for the development and assessment of innovative reform efforts designed to increase the recruitment, retention, and advancement of individuals from underrepresented minority groups in academic STEM careers.
“(2) Merit review; competition—Grants shall be awarded under this subsection on a merit-reviewed, competitive basis.
“(3) Use of funds—Activities supported by grants under this subsection may include—
“(A) institutional assessment activities, such as data analyses and policy review, in order to identify and address specific issues in the recruitment, retention, and advancement of faculty members from underrepresented minority groups;
“(B) implementation of institution-wide improvements in workload distribution, such that faculty members from underrepresented minority groups are not disadvantaged in the amount of time available to focus on research, publishing papers, and engaging in other activities required to achieve tenure status and run a productive research program;
“(C) development and implementation of training courses for administrators and search committee members to ensure that candidates from underrepresented minority groups are not subject to implicit biases in the search and hiring process;
“(D) development and hosting of intra- or inter-institutional workshops to propagate best practices in recruiting, retaining, and advancing faculty members from underrepresented minority groups;
“(E) professional development opportunities for faculty members from underrepresented minority groups;
“(F) activities aimed at making undergraduate STEM students from underrepresented minority groups aware of opportunities for academic careers in STEM fields;
“(G) activities to identify and engage exceptional graduate students and postdoctoral researchers from underrepresented minority groups at various stages of their studies and to encourage them to enter academic careers; and
“(H) other activities consistent with paragraph (1), as determined by the Director of the Foundation.
“(4) Selection process
“(A) Application—An institution of higher education (or a consortium of such institutions) seeking funding under this subsection shall submit an application to the Director of the Foundation at such time, in such manner, and containing such information and assurances as such Director may require. The application shall include, at a minimum, a description of—
“(i) the reform effort that is being proposed for implementation by the institution of higher education;
“(ii) any available evidence of specific difficulties in the recruitment, retention, and advancement of faculty members from underrepresented minority groups in STEM academic careers within the institution of higher education submitting an application, and how the proposed reform effort would address such issues;
“(iii) how the institution of higher education submitting an application plans to sustain the proposed reform effort beyond the duration of the grant; and
“(iv) how the success and effectiveness of the proposed reform effort will be evaluated and assessed in order to contribute to the national knowledge base about models for catalyzing institutional change.
“(B) Review of applications—In selecting grant recipients under this subsection, the Director of the Foundation shall consider, at a minimum—
“(i) the likelihood of success in undertaking the proposed reform effort at the institution of higher education submitting the application, including the extent to which the administrators of the institution are committed to making the proposed reform effort a priority;
“(ii) the degree to which the proposed reform effort will contribute to change in institutional culture and policy such that greater value is placed on the recruitment, retention, and advancement of faculty members from underrepresented minority groups;
“(iii) the likelihood that the institution of higher education will sustain or expand the proposed reform effort beyond the period of the grant; and
“(iv) the degree to which evaluation and assessment plans are included in the design of the proposed reform effort.
“(C) Grant distribution—The Director of the Foundation shall ensure, to the extent practicable, that grants awarded under this section are made to a variety of types of institutions of higher education.
“(5) Authorization of appropriations—There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection $8,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024.”
National Science Foundation support for broadening participation in undergraduate STEM education— Section 305 of the American Innovation and Competitiveness Act (42 U.S.C. 1862s–5), as amended by subsection (b), is further amended by inserting after subsection (e) the following:
“(f) Support for broadening participation in undergraduate STEM education
“(1) In general—The Director of the Foundation shall award grants to institutions of higher education (or a consortium of such institutions) to implement or expand research-based reforms in undergraduate STEM education for the purpose of recruiting and retaining students from minority groups who are underrepresented in STEM fields.
“(2) Merit review; competition—Grants shall be awarded under this subsection on a merit-reviewed, competitive basis.
“(3) Use of funds—Activities supported by grants under this subsection may include—
“(A) implementation or expansion of innovative, research-based approaches to broaden participation of underrepresented minority groups in STEM fields;
“(B) implementation or expansion of bridge, cohort, tutoring, or mentoring programs, including those involving community colleges and technical schools, designed to enhance the recruitment and retention of students from underrepresented minority groups in STEM fields;
“(C) implementation or expansion of outreach programs linking institutions of higher education and K–12 school systems in order to heighten awareness among pre-college students from underrepresented minority groups of opportunities in college-level STEM fields and STEM careers;
“(D) implementation or expansion of faculty development programs focused on improving retention of undergraduate STEM students from underrepresented minority groups;
“(E) implementation or expansion of mechanisms designed to recognize and reward faculty members who demonstrate a commitment to increasing the participation of students from underrepresented minority groups in STEM fields;
“(F) expansion of successful reforms aimed at increasing the number of STEM students from underrepresented minority groups beyond a single course or group of courses to achieve reform within an entire academic unit, or expansion of successful reform efforts beyond a single academic unit or field to other STEM academic units or fields within an institution of higher education;
“(G) expansion of opportunities for students from underrepresented minority groups to conduct STEM research in industry, at Federal labs, and at international research institutions or research sites;
“(H) provision of stipends for students from underrepresented minority groups participating in research;
“(I) development of research collaborations between research-intensive universities and primarily undergraduate minority-serving institutions;
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“(J) support for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows from underrepresented minority groups to participate in instructional or assessment activities at primarily undergraduate institutions, including primarily undergraduate minority-serving institutions and two-year 2-year institutions of higher education; and
“(K) other activities consistent with paragraph (1), as determined by the Director of the Foundation.
“(4) Selection process
“(A) Application—An institution of higher education (or a consortia thereof) seeking a grant under this subsection shall submit an application to the Director of the Foundation at such time, in such manner, and containing such information and assurances as such Director may require. The application shall include, at a minimum—
“(i) a description of the proposed reform effort;
“(ii) a description of the research findings that will serve as the basis for the proposed reform effort or, in the case of applications that propose an expansion of a previously implemented reform, a description of the previously implemented reform effort, including data about the recruitment, retention, and academic achievement of students from underrepresented minority groups;
“(iii) evidence of an institutional commitment to, and support for, the proposed reform effort, including a long-term commitment to implement successful strategies from the current reform beyond the academic unit or units included in the grant proposal;
“(iv) a description of existing or planned institutional policies and practices regarding faculty hiring, promotion, tenure, and teaching assignment that reward faculty contributions to improving the education of students from underrepresented minority groups in STEM; and
“(v) how the success and effectiveness of the proposed reform effort will be evaluated and assessed in order to contribute to the national knowledge base about models for catalyzing institutional change.
“(B) Review of applications—In selecting grant recipients under this subsection, the Director of the Foundation shall consider, at a minimum—
“(i) the likelihood of success of the proposed reform effort at the institution submitting the application, including the extent to which the faculty, staff, and administrators of the institution are committed to making the proposed institutional reform a priority of the participating academic unit or units;
“(ii) the degree to which the proposed reform effort will contribute to change in institutional culture and policy such that greater value is placed on faculty engagement in the retention of students from underrepresented minority groups;
“(iii) the likelihood that the institution will sustain or expand the proposed reform effort beyond the period of the grant; and
“(iv) the degree to which evaluation and assessment plans are included in the design of the proposed reform effort.
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“(C) Grant distribution—The Director of the Foundation shall ensure, to the extent practicable, that grants awarded under this subsection are made to a variety of types of institutions of higher education, including two-year 2-year and minority-serving institutions of higher education.
“(5) Education research
“(A) In general—All grants made under this subsection shall include an education research component that will support the design and implementation of a system for data collection and evaluation of proposed reform efforts in order to build the knowledge base on promising models for increasing recruitment and retention of students from underrepresented minority groups in STEM education at the undergraduate level across a diverse set of institutions.
“(B) Dissemination—The Director of the Foundation shall coordinate with relevant Federal agencies in disseminating the results of the research under this paragraph to ensure that best practices in broadening participation in STEM education at the undergraduate level are made readily available to all institutions of higher education, other Federal agencies that support STEM programs, non-Federal funders of STEM education, and the general public.
“(6) Authorization of appropriations—There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024.”